A young migrantâs perilous journey and the cost of inaction Four weeks after MarÃaâs daughter first disappeared into the bowels of the US immigration system, the two were finally reunited. By Marcela GarcÃa Globe Columnist,Updated April 20, 2021, 2 hours ago Email to a Friend Migrants from Central American countries wait to be taken to a Border Patrol intake station after being smuggled across the Rio Grande river in Roma, Texas, on March 30.Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press It was midmorning and the young Salvadoran migrant was terrified at the sight of the Rio Grande before her. One of her male companions said to her, âIâll help you.â Soon, the water was up to their necks. Midway across the river, he said to her, âThis is where I leave you.â He turned and swam back to the Mexican side. She panicked but willed herself to keep going by herself. She didnât know how to swim.